Where to Eat and Drink for Rising
Rising is upon us with its third eclectic program of dance, music, theatre, cinema, sculpture and more. With 400 artists performing across 185 separate events, the festival will see the CBD come to life over 12 days and nights (June 7 to June 18).
This year the winter festival’s events take place within a smaller area, making it easier to jump between a quick drink and bite, a show, a full dinner, and back out to another show. The main cluster is around Flinders Street Station, Federation Square, Birrarung Marr and the Arts Precinct.
Whichever events you’re aiming to catch, it’s best not to leave your food and drink plans to chance. It might be hard to find somewhere that isn’t packed. This guide should help get your planning started.
Related pages:
Roving Oyster Shuckers, Archie Rose Negronis and Giant Puppets Descend on the Piazza for Night Trade
Best Restaurants in Melbourne’s CBD
Best Bars in Melbourne’s CBD
Moon Bites
Dine at Dusk
Midtown
Flinders Street and Surrounds
Melbourne Arts Precinct
West End
Moon Bites
Restaurant
Nomad
Try Nomad’s dedicated bar menu during Rising. To complement dishes like hot smoked fish with apple, witlof and Yarra Valley salmon caviar, there’ll be a cocktail made in collaboration with Archie Rose Distilling Co. Walk-ins are welcome, or book your seat up at the bar online.
Restaurant
Hazel
Rising is a perfect excuse to try Hazel, a refined two-floor restaurant on Flinders Lane. It’s offering a set menu ($55pp) from Wednesday to Saturday throughout Rising, which includes a charcuterie plate, maple-roasted carrots, mussels, and a glass of pét-nat. It’s central, so you can head straight to a show afterwards. But not before booking a table.
Restaurant
Cumulus Inc.
Everything at Andrew McConnell’s all-day eating house is delicious. And throughout Rising, you can sample it through a special set menu ($60pp), which includes an aperitif, a snack, a seasonal main, and a glass of co-founder Jayden Ong’s Moonlit Forest wine. There’s a vegetarian alternative, too.
Bar
Eau De Vie
Eau de Vie is up there among the world’s best bars, with its theatrical cocktails, world-beating whisky list and European-inspired snacks. All this is on offer throughout Rising. Enjoy a set menu ($60pp) of five montaditos (Spanish open sandwiches), one of which is topped with roasted capsicum, anchovy and tomato tapenade. They’re paired with a Mandarin Spritz cocktail and, later on, the bar’s theatrical Espresso Zabaione. Bookings essential.
Restaurant
Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters
Victoria highlights the best of the state’s food, drink and art in a sprawling riverside venue. And it’s right among the CBD’s main Rising hubs in Federation Square. Book a seat on the terrace and enjoy a set menu ($65pp) of roasted Jerusalem artichoke soup, pine mushroom rosti, and a smoked O’Connor beef cheek roll, all alongside a glass of Victorian wine, beer or soft drink.
Accommodation
QT Melbourne
Head upstairs to Bar 133, a moody cocktail bar, for a dedicated pre-dinner menu for two ($60). Throughout Rising, it’s paying tribute to the moon with half a dozen oysters with champagne mignonette, and two Gibson Martinis. Book ahead, and enjoy the short stroll over to Melbourne Town Hall afterwards for Euphoria.
Dine at Dusk
Restaurant
Kisume
This is one of Melbourne’s best Japanese restaurants. On Sunday June 11, you can book one of just 12 seats upstairs for its intimate chef’s table in collaboration with Rising. Watch as executive chef Yonge Kim prepares a delicate multi-course feast with a strong seafood focus ($200pp, 10 per cent Sunday surcharge). Bookings are essential, and seats here often sell out, so get in quick.
Restaurant
Hazel
Hazel is a pared-back eatery that stretches over two floors of Flinders Lane’s historic Richard Allen & Son. And it’s hosting a dedicated four-course feast ($150pp) for Rising on Wednesday June 14. Enjoy a cocktail on arrival before tucking into an elaborate menu that celebrates seasonal ingredients and low-waste cooking. Bookings are essential.
Midtown
Restaurant
Soi 38
This Thai street-food spot is a cult Melbourne fave. Brave the queues for pad krapow, aromatic boat noodles, spicy papaya salads, crying tiger (slow-cooked and grilled beef brisket), mixed Thai hotpot and more.
Restaurant
Her Bar
Open till very late on weekends, this swish, marble-clad bar and diner is your first port of call at the five-storey Pacific House building. Come for Mediterranean-inspired plates and tapped cocktails before hitting the rooftop.
Restaurant
BKK
Small, lively and theatrical, this barbeque-powered Thai restaurant is a top spot to try dishes from all over the country, paired with highly complementary beers, wines and cocktails.
Bar
Cookie
Cookie combines rowdy European beer hall with standout Thai food that beckons to be shared. It’s fun, versatile and subtly influential, preceding similar restaurants like Chin Chin. Bring a crew, order the banquet and plan to drink.
Restaurant
Thai Tide
A neon-lit Thai diner serving dishes rarely seen outside the country. Order punchy betel leaf wraps, caramelly mackerel and ant larvae soup. Plus, there are lo-fi Australian wines and disposable cameras to capture your night.
Restaurant
Nana Thai
There are still constant queues during the dinner rush at this buzzing Thai diner. The pay-off is some of Melbourne’s best (and spiciest) Thai food, including more than a dozen kinds of papaya salad, a crowd-pleasing tom yum with instant noodles and mookata, the signature hotpot-barbeque hybrid.
Restaurant
Shandong Mama
You’ll find some of the best dumplings in town in an arcade off Chinatown. Don’t let the long line deter you. The staff at this stripped back, all-day Chinese diner keep the queues moving quickly. Shandong is known for its seafood so be sure to add a plate to the order.
Restaurant
Supper Inn
Supper Inn is a BYO Melbourne institution. Just ask Melbourne’s top chefs.
Restaurant
Ling Nan
Offering no-nonsense Cantonese dining in the heart of the CBD, Ling Nan has been satisfying Melbourne’s late-night cravings for around three decades. New location, same must-order XO pippies.
Restaurant
Shujinko
Shujinko is as close as you’ll get to Tokyo in Melbourne’s Chinatown. At this unpretentious noodle house, you can enjoy Tonkotsu-style ramen until late seven days a week. Some gyoza, beer and sake also come recommended.
Restaurant
Dragon Hot Pot
Cheap, delicious and fun, as all great malatang joints should be. Fill your golden pot with meat, tofu, noodles and vegetables from the self-serve fridge, then bathe your spoils in hot-and-sour Sichuan-style broth.
Bar
Parcs
Parcs walks the talk on sustainability. The wine bar and diner uses leftover produce from its sibling venues. And an ex-Brae chef transforms it into inventive dishes (like mandarin-and-watermelon kimchi) for 12 menus per year.
Restaurant
Aru
This sultry sibling to Sunda is every bit as stellar. The menu effortlessly blends Southeast Asian flavours, native Australian ingredients and ancient techniques.
Restaurant
The Waiters Restaurant
Starting in the 1940s as a place for migrant waiters to unwind after a shift, this Melbourne icon still serves reliably good pastas and desserts. There’s nothing fancy here – just good wine in glass tumblers, humble family-run hospitality, and a chalkboard menu of hearty Italian classics.
Flinders Street and Surrounds
Restaurant
Grill Americano
Venetian elegance, New York energy and Melbourne nostalgia collide at restaurateur Chris Lucas’s lavish brasserie and grill. Settle into the grand dining room for charcoal-fired bistecca, show-stopping tiramisu, quintessentially Italian cocktails and lots of tableside theatrics.
Restaurant
Supernormal
Beautifully executed Japanese (and other east Asian cuisines) by celebrated chef Andrew McConnell. Come for Melbourne's most famous lobster roll, steaming bowls of ramen at lunch, Korean-style barbequed meats and Shanghai dumplings.
Restaurant
Lee Ho Fook
From the mind of acclaimed chef Victor Liong, this diner reimagines traditional Chinese flavours through a refined modern lens. Look for it down a graffiti-covered alley off Flinders Lane.
Restaurant
Pastuso
Pastuso brings Peruvian flair with a menu of ceviche, grilled meat and plenty of pisco. The dining room is a riot of colour, but we say grab a seat at the marble-clad bar and take in all the action, Pisco Sour in hand.
Restaurant
Coda
It’s tricky to pin down Coda’s flavour-punching dishes. Modern Asian? Euro-Vietnamese fusion? Pop in pre-theatre for some scallops and a glass of wine, or do your next special occasion here. Coda is supremely versatile, and one of Melbourne’s best.
Restaurant
Maha Restaurant
The flavours at celebrity chef Shane Delia’s opulent Maha are familiar, but they’re assembled with more finesse than your average Middle Eastern restaurant. Vibrant mezze, a must-have lamb shoulder and an affordable wine list make this a winner for group dining.
Restaurant
Tonka
Indian flavours are far too uncommon at the top-end of dining, an issue Tonka has been smartly redressing for years. The wine list is a cracker, but we're more partial to the smart cocktail menu and its wealth of refreshing, South Asian-inspired mixes.
Restaurant
Movida
The restaurant responsible for igniting Melbourne's love for modern Spanish food.
Restaurant
Movida Next Door
An authentic tapas experience.
Restaurant
Tres a Cinco
This lively cantina is all about home-style Mexican. Expect beef tacos exactly how they’re served in Mexico, prawn-and-chorizo tamales and a jiggly chocolate flan. Plus: eight different Margaritas and hard-to-find agave spirits.
Restaurant
Kenzan
Top-quality sushi and sashimi since 1981.
Restaurant
Gimlet at Cavendish House
Andrew McConnell's signature flair is all over this grand bar and dining room, from the exacting service to the comforting European dishes. It’s named after the classic cocktail, and the calibre of drinks here speaks to that. You’ll find us at the marble bar, Gimlet in hand.
Restaurant
Di Stasio Citta
The CBD sequel to restaurateur Rinaldo Di Stasio's St Kilda institution goes just as heavy on the hand-made pastas. But it also throws high art into the mix, with video installations and dramatic artworks lining the walls of the restaurant’s brutalist, contemporary interior.
Melbourne Arts Precinct
Restaurant
Asado Bar and Grill
Asado is Spanish for roast. And that’s exactly the focus at this tan-leather-filled restaurant, which showcases grilled meats and big flavours. From the team behind San Telmo, Pastuso and Palermo, Asado encourages you to share a spread of tapas as well as meat, seafood and vegetables charred on the parrilla.
Restaurant
Bistro Guillaume
French dining from renowned chef Guillaume Brahimi.
Restaurant
Five Guys Melbourne
The cult US burger giant's first location in Melbourne. Drop in for burgers starring double handmade patties (with free choice of toppings), daily-cut fries, hot dogs, shakes and more.
Bar
Waterslide Bar
Single malt, creative cocktails and beers on tap will lure you riverside.
Bar
Blondie Bar
Unwind before or after the the theatre.
West End
Restaurant
Dodee Paidang Little Collins Street
Descend to the sprawling and busy basement for a menu that honours classic Thai food including pad thai, whole fish soup, seafood platters, papaya salads and plates of barbequed meat.
Restaurant
Trattoria Emilia
Taking cues from northern Italian trattorias, Emilia has you covered for all occasions, from casual pasta and tigelle lunches to long and luxurious dinners.
Restaurant
Makan
Tasia and Gracia Seger might be reality TV stars, but their Indonesian restaurant proves their talent is definitely not just for show.
Restaurant
Mr Huang Jin
A Taiwanese eatery specialising in soup dumplings.
Restaurant
Delhi Streets
This casual, colourful laneway diner transports you to the streets of India.
Restaurant
Tipo 00
After all these years, moody Tipo 00 still attracts queues of people hoping for a taste of its simple yet meticulously assembled pastas. A couple of secondi and dolci also grace the menu, alongside salumi best enjoyed at the marble bar, spritz in hand. Make sure you arrive early – very early – if you don’t have a booking.
Restaurant
Miznon
Eyal Shani’s Israeli pita haven came to Melbourne, via Paris and Vienna.
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